How to Party Like a Rental Pro

As a high-ranking executive of a high-ranking party rental company, Michael Feldbaum had access to just about anything he could want for his own wedding reception.

After all, as chief operating officer of Minneapolis-based Apres Party and Tent Rental—a longtime fixture on the Special Events "30 Top Rental Companies" list--Feldbaum knows virtually about all there is to know about what's available to build a spectacular event. But he and his bride had only one goal. "We didn't want a traditional wedding reception," he explains. "We simply wanted a killer party!" And that's exactly what the 225 guests enjoyed--a killer party in a tent perched on the fourth-floor terrace at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

The couple had married a couple of weeks earlier in a private ceremony in Palm Springs, Calif. They picked the Walker as their reception site for its sleek, modern vibe, which brought "a little bit of Palm Springs to our friends in Minneapolis," Feldbaum explains.

Although the prized art collection added an invigorating element to the event—and inspired the Feldbaums to stage a live art performance during their reception—hosting an event in a public museum brings plenty of challenges. Load in/out had strict time constraints, and a guard escorted all trips to and from the loading dock.

The tent itself—a safeguard in case of rain—brought its own challenges. "Although the area could have supported a larger tent, the engineering could not support the necessary weight associated with a larger structure," Feldbaum explains. Close work with the building's engineers ensured an installation that met all safety requirements. Even then, the Apres team had to custom-cut several legs of the tent to compensate for the uneven terrace site. Along with Apres, the event team included Bungalow 6 Design and Mi Mi Design, with D'Amico Catering overseeing food.

The food, in fact, was the evening's main entertainment, Feldbaum says. "We did not want a formal sit-down dinner, so instead we filled the space with lounge furniture and cocktail tables and served our guests a gluttonous 16 courses of butler-passed small plates including Brazilian chile lettuce wraps, sweet balsamic beef short ribs with Parmesan risotto, chicken and waffles, jerk shrimp tacos, miso marinated Chilean sea bass, and bags of hot cinnamon sugar mini doughnuts!"

His one regret? "My wife and I wish we had arrived earlier to 'ooh and aah' over all the incredible details," he says. "Once the guests arrived, the night just flew by."